Friday early I'm flying to DC to see Okkervil River play all of Black Sheep Boy. It's the album's 10 year anniversary, and it's one of my favorite albums of all time. I have a cat sitter coming to check on my cats Friday and Saturday, but I still feel really bad leaving them. They're both really attached to me, and I don't have any way to explain why there isn't a warm body to curl up with at night or the lap cuddles that have become a morning fixture.

But I have to get used to it, because I'm spending a week in the Adirondacks in December to do some snowshoeing. I've been glued to the weather forecasts and snow cover maps. It's early in the season, but I'm pretty optimistic. I bought a new alpine backpack and winter hiking boots at REI's fall sale. I picked up an ice axe online, too. A few times last winter I should have had a way of self arresting, even on a short slide. Most of my butt sliding ended in a poof when the trail leveled out ten vertical feet down, but one ended in a tree. More gear means more weight, but I think it's worth it.

I also have a mental plan for doing some bigger trips. 2016 will be extending my range and ability to take gear up elevations (meaning more overnights in the Adirondacks), then 2017 I want to do a guided beginner glacier climb, probably something in the Cascades like Mount Baker. 2018 maybe extend that to Mount Rainer, and 2019 do something like Kilimanjaro or a trek to Mount Everest base camp.